A judge ruled Thursday that there’s no reason to drop charges against a teen girl accused of beating a former Minneapolis mayoral candidate.

An attorney for Deea Leshawn Elliott had argued that because Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was a political supporter of beating victim Mark Andrew, the charges were harsher than they might otherwise be — and they had the appearance of prejudice.

After Freeman’s office filed charges against Elliott, 17, and another teen, it turned the cases over to Anoka County prosecutors to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

The head of violent-crime prosecutions for the Anoka County attorney’s office, Paul Young, told Hennepin County District Judge Herbert Lefler that his office wouldn’t have handled the cases any differently, and he asked the judge to deny the defense motion to dismiss the case.

“At the end of the day, there’s just no substance to it,” he said of the motion. “The facts don’t support it.”

After hearing from Young and defense attorney Andre Morant, Lefler sided with the prosecution.

“I haven’t seen anything indicating Mr. Freeman personally intervened in the charging decision,” the judge said. He also noted that if he threw out the case, Anoka County would just file new charges against the teen.

“We’d be back at square one,” Lefler said.

Elliott, of Minneapolis, sat at the counsel table with her attorney and her father. She said nothing during the hearing.

She and Letaija Shapree Cutler-Cain, 18, of Brooklyn Park have been charged in the Dec. 26 beating of Andrew, 63, outside a coffee shop at the Mall of America. Andrew, a Minneapolis businessman, came in second in November’s mayoral race.

Andrew was sitting at the coffee shop when a teen boy whisked by his table, snatched Andrew’s iPhone and took off running. Andrew chased him, and prosecutors claim that when he did, Elliott and Cutler-Cain tried to block him and then beat him.

In particular, Elliott allegedly pulled out a collapsible metal nightstick like the ones police sometimes use and beat Andrew with it — while she yelled she was going to kill him.

Andrew held onto the two females until mall police arrived, but their alleged accomplice got away; he dropped the phone as he ran. The beating left Andrew with cuts and bruises; doctors used nine stitches to close a head wound.

Elliott has been charged in a juvenile petition with two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and a single count of second-degree assault. She is considered a juvenile, but state law presumes a 17-year-old defendant accused of an aggravated crime will be tried as an adult.

Despite that legal presumption, a judge must certify her as an adult. A hearing on that request by the prosecution is set for Feb. 11.

Cutler-Cain faces two counts of aiding and abetting aggravated robbery and a single count of aiding and abetting second-degree assault.

A male later was apprehended. Prosecutors have said that because he is a juvenile, they can’t discuss whether charges have been filed against him.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

A Buffalo, Minn., man was fatally injured Wednesday morning in Hugo when a tractor-trailer and a front-end loader apparently collided. Washington County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched about 8:40 a.m. to the 14600 block of Irish Avenue, where the truck and front-end loader crashed, according to a news release issued by the sheriff’s office. Responding deputies found one man with critical...

Target plans to boost its same-day delivery capability by paying $550 million for Shipt, its latest move to try to catch up with Amazon. Shipt, which charges members $99 a year, sends people out to choose and deliver groceries from stores. Target said Wednesday that it will add more products to the service next year, such as home goods and...

Ten years ago, Wisconsinite Helen McCombie decided to ring the bell for the Salvation Army’s red kettle for 30 hours straight, raising $15,000. She continued the tradition for two more years before passing it on to others. This year, the Salvation Army in western Wisconsin hopes the bell-ringing marathoners will bring in $75,000 to help save its homeless shelters, which...

BENSON, Minn. — Minnesota’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a man who died last week after a fall at the Benson Power plant in west-central Minnesota. Almost a week later, the police have not yet released the name of the man, though family members have been notified. The investigation into the incident is ongoing with...

A blind, potbellied pig found abandoned in southern Minnesota will get a second chance at life at an animal rescue in North Dakota. Alison Smith, owner of Kitty City animal rescue, took in Wanda the pig, who was found deserted at a residence in Albert Lea, Minn. A volunteer with Kitty City made the more than 500-mile trek last weekend...